‘Who would ever leave you?’: Cher reveals the ‘really young’ Hollywood heartthrob who dumped her despite ‘fabulous’ time together

It’s easy to assume that romance comes easy for someone as popular, successful, and fabulous as Cher — as if nobody could break her heart even if they tried. But in a new interview, the ‘70s icon disclosed that there’s one man who really broke her heart and gave her one of her most painful heartaches.

Cher stopped by Howard Stern’s SiriusXM show on Wednesday to discuss a couple of things about her life. While talking about heartbreaks, the “Believe” hitmaker accidentally spilled about the time she dated an ‘80s heartthrob, who surprisingly dumped her.

“Who would ever leave you?” Stern, 70, asked incredulously. In response, the 78-year-old singer said, “Few men but a couple. Look, I was madly in love with Val Kilmer, and he left.”

Taken aback by Cher’s revelation, Stern quickly followed up by asking, “Why would he leave if he’s having fabulous sex with one of the most beautiful women in the world?”

While detailing more about what transpired between her and the Top Gun actor, Cher admitted that their romance did not last long because sometimes people are “only meant to stay with someone so long.”

Cher and Kilmer started dating in 1982 after meeting for the first time at a mutual friend’s birthday party. Despite their 13-year age gap, the two hit it off instantly, and they got together quickly. Unfortunately, they called it quits two years later.

Reflecting on the fleeting nature of their past relationship, Cher seemingly acknowledged that the age gap got in the way between them since she noted that Kilmer, now 64, was “really young” when they dated.

However, she told People in 2021 that she’s more inclined to date younger men since then. “The truth was if I hadn’t gone out with younger men, I would have never had a date. Younger men weren’t intimidated by older women. But older men in my age category, they weren’t having it.”

According to the Academy Award-winning star, the relationship she had with Kilmer was deeply rooted in mutual respect and humor. Plus, he was one of a kind.

“He’s like nobody I’ve ever known. He is exasperating and hysterical. Thrilling and funny, and doesn’t do what anyone else does,” she said before adding, “I loved him — and I love him.”

But while Cher reminisces fondly about Kilmer and was deeply in love with him enough to still consider their breakup as her biggest heartbreak, the latter revealed in his memoir, I’m Your Huckleberry, that it was actress Daryl Hannah who gave him his “most painful” heartbreak and not Cher.

“Lord knows I’ve suffered heartache. But Daryl was by far the most painful of all,” he confessed in his book, where he also mentioned Cher, writing: “Once Cher works her way inside your head and heart, she never leaves. For her true friends, her steadfast love and loyalty never die.”

Today, Cher and Kilmer remain friends. They have already moved past their infatuation for each other. And while Kilmer hasn’t had a girlfriend in 20 years, Cher remains unapologetic about her much younger romantic choices. She is currently dating music executive and rapper Alexander “AE” Edwards, who is half her age.

When they first got together in late 2022, the “If I Could Turn Back Time” songstress received a lot of backlash for their 40-year age gap. However, Cher was unfazed by the issue and even bravely responded to critics, writing on X: “Love doesn’t know math.”